The field of orthodontics has changed significantly over the past several decades. A substantial part of this change is due to the development of improved appliances for use in the field. Old fashioned "braces" have been largely replaced by improved appliances such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,833, issued to Fijita and that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,179, issued to Balenseifen. Such modern appliances are usually placed on the interior ("lingual") side of the teeth and thus are not visible when installed. This feature alone greatly increases the willingness of patients to have the devices put into place, and thus increases the incidence of successful treatment.
A variety of different appliances is required in order to properly treat the various problems of different dental patients. For example, a common type of problem is a malocclusion wherein the front ("anterior") top ("maxillar") teeth protrude to excess. A more basic problem is that of "overcrowding" wherein there is not sufficient room for later developing teeth to inhabit the mouth. This problem can occur in the maxillar or the lower ("mandibular") teeth. Such overcrowding may result in the above described type of malocclusion or, depending upon the individual, in any number of other unhealthy misalignments of the teeth. Given the great variety of peculiarities which are encountered, many appliances have been developed for creating specific types of adjustments of the teeth. An example of such a specific device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,725, issued to Goshgarian, which teaches a bar for connecting between molars and for performing various realignment procedures thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,864, issued to Cleary teaches an orthodontic bracket and bar combination system which, also, is an improvement well suited to its specified purposes.
A development related to the above described improvements has been the need for improved methods for attaching appliances, such as those described herein, to the teeth. An example of such an improvement is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,883, issued to Stoller et al.
A not uncommon requirement is for a device to move the anterior teeth forward and at the same time move the molars distally, thus creating spaces for new permanent teeth to erupt. Various types of appliances and combinations thereof, including some of those mentioned previously herein, have been applied to this purpose. However, some orthodontists have been frustrated by the lack of an appliance which can quickly and easily be positioned to perform this combined function which appliance is readily adaptable to a variety of mouth sizes and peculiarities. Furthermore, given the differences between individuals, it is desirable to be able to separately adjust the pressure applied to the anterior teeth distinct from the adjustment of pressure applied to the molars. An additional factor is that some prior art orthodontic appliances, while they might in fact be adaptable to the above specified purposes, are more cumbersome, expensive, and difficult to install and adjust than is required to accomplish just those purposes.
All of the prior art orthodontic appliances or combinations thereof which are capable of moving anterior teeth forward while moving molars distally, within the inventor's knowledge, have been adapted to fit specific sizes and or configurations of mouths and teeth, or else have been incapable of being adjusted to independently regulate pressure applied to the anterior teeth, or else have required more than a single appliance to accomplish this combined purpose.
No prior art orthodontic appliance, to the inventor's knowledge, has been easily adaptable to successfully provide the above described combination of desirable qualities. In any event, the inventor is aware of instances in which no appliance known to the inventor has been found to be well suited to those instances. All prior art orthodontic appliances have been found wanting in at least one of these qualities in at least some applications.